


Negative Feedback Loop

by Big_Bad_Beowulf



Category: Blaseball (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, But actually there is, I just have feelings about feedback and incineration, Sarcastically "There's no crying in blaseball!, and I bet teddy blaseball does as well, look - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:14:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26280247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Big_Bad_Beowulf/pseuds/Big_Bad_Beowulf
Summary: Theodore “Teddy” Duende was always the last one to leave after practice. He found it to be a great honor to have been chosen team captain, and as a result he always took extra care to make sure that all of the blaseball equipment was properly put away and that none of the other Garages had left anything behind. This, however, felt different than normal to Abbott. There had been a lingering static in the air as the team was practicing. It long since dissipated by the time the team left the field to get ready to go home, but the uneasiness in the players remained.
Kudos: 14





	Negative Feedback Loop

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written fanfiction before, nor have I publicly shared ANY of my other creative writing before. But I guess I'll make an exception for the cultural event of blaseball.  
> I didn't add any cusses because I wanted to keep this rated general, but you could really add them anywhere and I probably would've as well.  
> Also I've only done minimal edits to try to keep the tense consistent, so have fun with that.  
> Anyways, enjoy!

Theodore “Teddy” Duende was always the last one to leave after practice. He found it to be a great honor to have been chosen team captain, and as a result he always took extra care to make sure that all of the blaseball equipment was properly put away and that none of the other Garages had left anything behind. This, however, felt different than normal to Abbott. There had been a lingering static in the air as the team was practicing. It long since dissipated by the time the team left the field to get ready to go home, but the uneasiness in the players remained.

She walked out of the locker room to hear, “For the last time, I’m so thankful for the offer, Ollie, but I’m sure I don’t need the help.” Teddy was in the doorway leading to the equipment room, blocking Oliver “Ollie” Mueller from going inside.

“Yeah, yeah, okay. But if you ever—” Ollie was cut off by Teddy resting a hand on his shoulder.

“Really, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“Fine,” Ollie sighed as he dropped his skateboard on the ground, “My point still stands though.”

Teddy nodded and watched as Ollie skated away. He had almost completely closed the door to get back to work when Abbott grabbed the side and pulled it back open. “I’m not gonna help with the equipment if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“That’s not, really it Abb—”

Abbott cut him off as she ducked underneath the arm he was using to block the doorway, “I know.”

The door shut behind Teddy as he followed Abbott inside. She sat down by the player lockers. A few had duct tape over where the player names used to be, six in total. Abbott ran her fingers over one, the edge had begun to curl up and was losing its stickiness to dust and debris. “We don’t have a lot of unused lockers left. If we get anyone else we might have to give new players a used one soon.”

“Yeah,” Teddy started as he ran his hand over his right bicep, tattooed there were the names of every player who no longer played on the Garages. “If.”

“Look, I know you think you have to be all cool and collected just because you’re captain, but you don’t,” Abbott said as she picked at some of the gunk from the duct tape left under her fingernails. “The rest of us were there too, and it sucks, and I know you miss them. We all do. Now, I’m not gonna be like Ollie and try to give you advice because it’d suck anyways. But, I am saying that you’re not alone. Or you shouldn’t have to be anyways.”

“Look, if I say anything to you, you have to promise not to tell the rest of the team.”

“I feel like that’s contradictory to what I just said.”

Teddy shrugged, “Still.”

“Whatever, man.”

He picked up a blaseball and abandoned any hope of doing any more organization as he sits with his own thoughts. Aimlessly he passes it back from hand to hand as he sits down across the way from Abbott. “I just. Well... It’s like,” he started as Abbott patiently waited for him to continue. Teddy was quiet for awhile before he finally said, “If I could have my way none of us would be playing blaseball. And, like, don’t get me wrong. I love the team and I love our fans and I love the music and I love the memories we’ve had together, but I just wish we could be doing anything but this.”

Abbott silently nodded. She pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. The two sat in silence for a while, only to be broken when Teddy dropped the ball he was fiddling with. He cursed under his breath, but made no move to go retrieve it. Abbott sighed, looked up to meet Teddy’s eye line and said, “I mean, it would be simpler.”

Teddy unconvincingly laughed. “Yeah, I’m sure it would be...” he trailed off, raising a hand to wipe away tears he had only just begun to realize were forming. “Every single match I’m so scared of losing any of you. Deep down I know that Avila only left the team to go join another one, and that isn’t nearly as bad, and hey, we even got to get to know Seagull as a result, but it still hurts. And I try to stop it, but it’s never worked. Maybe it never will.”

Teddy looked back down at the ground and shrugged, “I just… It’s tough. Like, take Art for example—”

“Art’s still on the team,” Abbott said as she scrunched her face in confusion.

“I know, work with me here. It’s like, I can’t remember what Art looks like when he’s not here. I know, none of us can and that’s sort of his thing, but still, I’m scared that if he leaves I won’t be able to remember him at all.”

Abbott wiped away at grime that didn’t exist on her shoe with the other one, “Well, that’s messed up and now I also won’t stop thinking about that. So thanks for that I guess.”

Teddy rolled his eyes, “You know this is exactly why I don’t want to share this with anyone on the team right? I’m just so scared all the time about what comes next. I want to cancel every single game we play, but I can’t, I don’t have that kind of power. I dunno. I guess when you get down to it it’s just that I love you all so much and that only makes it all so much worse.”

As she chewed on the inside of her cheek Abbott nodded again before she stood up and held a hand out towards Teddy. “Look, I said it before and I’ll say it again. I don’t have the answers and I certainly don’t have anything that’ll make you feel better—”

Teddy took Abbott’s hand and stood up. He wiped away the last of his tears and shook his head, “Stop, just stop. Sitting there and having me actually say some of this out loud was enough for today.”

Abbott smiled, veering dangerously close to a smirk, “Good, I think we’ve both had enough of this mushy emotions crap for a day.”

The two left the equipment room, waved goodbye as they left the stadium for home, and thought only of the next game and what it may hold.


End file.
